Storing thermal energy in concrete
Bob Morris @ Dec 1st 2008 23:30 - Category: Solar power
Storage of solar power in concrete starts with the collection of heat in solar panels. The heat is then transferred through steel pipes into concrete, which absorbs the heat and stores it until it can be transferred to a generator.
Apparently this is widely done in Europe but not yet here in the States. However Coastal Concrete Homes in Mississippi builds homes out of concrete, using the thermal storage to provide heat.
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DJ on 02 Dec 2008 at 9:12 am #
That’s pretty cool. We live in a brown brick home that captures and stores passive solar energy, greatly reducing our heating and cooling requirements. The idea of linking such a great storage with active technology never occurred to me.
Ten Bears on 02 Dec 2008 at 6:27 pm #
I overheard today that concrete may be adaptable as a CO2 sink [on the community radio in the background so it'll take a while to backtrack it down, though I think it may have been Howard Zinn].